Hersey roped a one-out fastball to deep left-center field that brought around Ryan McQuade (Rochester, N.H.) to give the Lynx a 3-2 win and salvage the split with the Mountaineers after dropping the first game, 5-2.
Game two was a pitcher's duel as Lesley's John Gosnell (Toronto, Canada) and SVC starter Erik Johansen (Rosendale, N.Y.) limited the six and five hits, respectively.
Gosnell threw a complete-game, allowing just the two runs, striking out three without issuing a walk while Johansen tossed 6.1 innings, striking out four and walking one while getting charged with the loss.
Lesley got on the board first with two runs in the third. After Joe Muratore (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) led off the inning with a single, freshman Casey Blanchard (Bernardston, Mass.) laced a double down the left field line to put runners on second and third with no outs. Johansen retired the next batter with a groundout back to the mound, but Adam Ciampi (Westford, Mass.) followed that up with a single that brought both runners across to give the Lynx a 2-0 advantage.
The score would stay like that until the top of the sixth inning, when the Mountaineers were finally able to push a couple of runs across the plate. Sophomore Chris Nicastro (Cranford, N.J.) led the inning off with a single, then stole second, and came around on an RJ Pingitore (Amsterdam, N.Y.) double just out of the reach of a diving Blanchard in left-center field. After Gosnell got a pop-up to short, Corey Armstrong (Bennington, Vt.) singled up the middle that plated Pingitore and tied the game a 2-2. The Mountaineers continued to threaten in the inning as a stolen base and an error put runners on second and third with just one out. The Lynx caught a break when a failed suicide-squeeze led to the second out of the inning, and Gosnell got out of the jam with a line drive that was caught by centerfielder Rob Parson (Commack, N.Y.).
Gosnell would strand another SVC runner on third base in the top of the seventh to keep the score tied, before Hersey ended it with his double in the bottom half of the frame.
Gosnell, who forced 11 ground-ball outs on the afternoon, earned his second win of the season while lowering his earned-run average to just 2.45.
In the opener, Southern Vermont got the scoring started early as Chris Nicastro (Cranford, N.J.) led the game off with a walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and came around on an error, giving the Mountaineers an early 1-0 lead.
The Lynx answered in the bottom of the frame as they took advantage of two SVC infield miscues that allowed sophomore Adam Ciampi (Westford, Mass.) to cross the plate, notching the game at 1-1.
The Mountaineers kept the pressure on in the second inning when Ryan Schuette (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) singled and Quentin Scott (Ashaway, R.I.) followed up with a double to left-center to put runners on second and third. After a walk loaded the bases, sophomore Cody LaBadia (Howes Caves, N.Y.) signaled to center, knocking in Schuette and Scott, extending the SVC lead to 3-1.
LaBadia picked up his third RBI of the game in the fourth when he singled up the middle to plate Scot once again. Scot had led off the inning with a walk and moved to third on a Nicastro double down the left field line. The Mountaineers scored their second run of the inning when Nicastro came in on a Corey Armstrong (Bennington, Vt.) sacrifice fly to center.
The Lynx added another in the bottom of the fifth inning when sophomore Rob Parson (Commack, N.Y.), who finished 3-4 with a double, scored on Tyler Plourd's (Canton, Conn.) sacrifice fly to left, but could not scratch anymore runs as SVC starter Zach Milton (Ft. Myers, Fla.) limited the Lesley bats to just six hits.
Milton went the distance, striking out nine and walking two, earning his first victory of the season.
Lesley got a solid 3.2 innings of relief from freshman Koby Mitchell (Fall River, Mass.) and Forrest Steevens (Wilton, N.H.) did not let up a hit while combining for two strikeouts.
The Lynx return to the diamond for some more NECC action tomorrow as they travel to Elms College for a doubleheader starting at 5:00p while the Mountaineers will host Union College on Tuesday in non-conference action. First pitch is slated for 3:00p.